What is CPU? Easily explained

The abbreviation CPU often appears in connection with computers and processors. What is it exactly and what is behind it? CPU stands for "Central Processing Unit" and means "central processing unit". We explain more about this topic in this practical tip.

CPU - what is it?

The CPU is the main processor of a computer and thus forms the core of a computer along with other processors.

• The CPU is inside your computer. It is attached to a socket on the mainboard or in a free slot - a slot - similar to the graphics card. In addition, a fan is always installed to cool the processor. Because it heats up due to complex computing tasks and would quickly switch off without cooling. Another processor is the GPU - what is it?
• The CPU is mainly concerned with computing and control and has an arithmetic and control unit for this purpose.
• The arithmetic unit can calculate arithmetic tasks in the binary system with 0 and 1. By clever coordination, all possible operations such as addition or division can be carried out. The control unit in the CPU knows various commands and ensures coordination with a so-called command decoder. In this way, commands can be passed on from the operating system to the processor.
• For example, if you want to print out a page, first enter the command in the operating system. This then converts the task into a calculation and passes it on to the processor. After the calculation has been carried out, a command is sent to the printer and the result is forwarded.
• You can see the CPU utilization in the Task Manager under "Processes". Call the Task Manager under Windows with the key combination [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [Del]. We will explain in another article how to call up the task manager on a Macbook.

CPUs with different cores - what does that mean?

The CPU differs from computer to computer and can be divided into different groups with cores. The CPU is also differentiated according to its performance.

• The most common names here are single-core processors (single-core), two-core processors (dual-core) and four-core processors (quad-core). The more cores a processor has, the more tasks it can do at the same time. This automatically makes it more powerful.
• The performance is specified in Hz (Hertz), MHz (Megahertz) or GHz (Gigahertz). A gigahertz processor can perform 1 billion operations per second. Strictly speaking, 1 billion current pulses per second are processed in the CPU. Complex computing tasks such as dividing large numbers consume several thousand current pulses. Processors with a performance of several gigahertz are now the standard.
• The leading processor manufacturers include AMD and Intel. You can find Intel processors with the well-known names i3, i5 and i7 in many computers.

High CPU usage under Windows 7 - what to do?

In another practical tip, we will show you how to find out which CPU is installed in your computer.